


A Beast's Escape

by PrincessCipher



Series: Spectrum Soul [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - BeastTale, Alternate Universe - Dancetale, Alternate Universe - Echotale, Alternate Universe - Outertale, Alternate Universe - Storyshift, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underlust, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Babybones (Undertale), CoreFrisk - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, I didn't want to type out each character from each universe, M/M, Multi, Multiverse (Undertale), Reader has no defined gender, Some fighting, Spectrum Soul, reader is a monster, that would be too many tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessCipher/pseuds/PrincessCipher
Summary: With not so much of a trace, the Spectrum Soul has vanished. Despite everyone's best efforts it cannot be found.Around the same time it went missing, in a lab deep underground in the Beasttale universe, a failed experiment is given new life in a flash of rainbow light.





	1. The Forming of a Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a sequel to "Blind But Not Unseeing," the first fic in the "Spectrum Soul" universe! While it is not necessary to have read the first one, I highly recommend it!
> 
> For those that did read it however, this follows "Ending 3: Everybody Wins?", and can also be considered to follow any of the romantic endings, though none will be explicitly mentioned.
> 
> This story will have 4 possible endings, though I'm not sure about what I'll do for romantic endings this time around since we'll be visiting many more universes! I'll figure something out long before we get there.
> 
> On a side note, the Beasttale referenced here is partially of my own design, though I did heavily reference BlackDragon-Studio's Blaster Beast!Sans reference sheet for proportions. For clarification (in my version), Sans and Papyrus' heads are shaped like Sans's blasters with Papyrus' being sharper. Their eye lights are solid colors, with Sans' lights matching the canon for lighting up. They do not have back spines or a blast attack like shown in the reference sheet, and neither has a pointed tail. Despite the difference, I did feel it necessary to give them the proper credit for helping to give me a starting place.
> 
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy the second installment!

If you'd like to chat, find me at my [_personal Tumblr_](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/princesscipherite)!

Or, check out my [_Undertale Headcannon blog_](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/skelliesandfriends)!

And, if you like my work, consider supporting me by [_buying me a coffee_](https://ko-fi.com/A173WK5)!

*****

No experiment had succeeded in the last few years. In fact, as Sans helped his father day after day, he firmly believed that the formation of his brother was the last experiment that would succeed. Trying to create a SOUL that would be able to destroy the barrier of its own strength was a ridiculous endeavor. All they were working with was their own magic! Not only did it not make sense, but Gaster was firm in his misguided resolve. Still, Sans listened to his father and did his bidding without the slightest verbal complaint. He knew that this experiment would fail every time they did it, and that was enough for his apathy to kick in.

“Sans, grab the concentrated magic for me.”

“yessir,” the beast responded, plodding over and slipping the syringe syringe from its case with the utmost care.

“It is time, Sans. We have made great progress. This will prove to be an experiment worthy of our genius.”

“yessir,” Sans repeated, eying the machine with a tired gaze. It hummed to life at Gaster's prodding, its whirring filling the room. Soon enough, the magic was injected and it began to swirl inside. Over and over it spun, consolidating into one small area.

With a flash of white light, a creature fell from the tube. Horrid screeches escaped it, the melting and cracking SOUL floating above it. As the light finally faded, they could see the skeleton with its missing bones, clean breaks, and fractures. It shivered, whines escaping as it tried to crawl toward them.

Sans turned his gaze to the side, holding back the urge to vomit. While this was the most _successful_ experiment yet, they had created a true monstrosity. What they had done should never be done again.

“A disappointment,” Gaster sighed, shaking his head. “I had hoped that this would be even a _bit_ better. It is truly upsetting. Very well. Sans, dust the failure.”

The smaller skeleton sighed, summoning a few bones. He did not have any other choice since Gaster would probably punish Papyrus, so he resigned himself to his fate. Just as he lined the summoned bones up to the creature's heart, another flash of light blinded both him and Gaster. A sliver of pure darkness joined the light, completely blinding the duo.

As the light and darkness faded to something bearable, Sans and Gaster were treated to a completely new sight. The monstrosity that had been broken, melting, and falling apart had formed into a true entity. It was a bit smaller than Sans, with a sharper jaw and horns. On its back, two bony wings spread out and laid on the floor to its sides. A tail nearly the length of its body spread out behind it, ending in a sharp point. It was naked aside from a strangely shaped pendant, occasionally dripping with an odd black substance.

“What...?” Gaster managed, eyelights locked onto your form.

Shivering like a newborn, you moved your legs underneath you and tried to stand. It took a few tries, but you finally managed to stand up on your four limbs. There was an odd aching in your chest, but you had no idea what could be causing that. In fact, there were a lot of things you simply didn't know. It was strange to honestly consider, that so many things were unknown to you while some things were obvious.

“holy shit, gaster.”

You raised your gaze to the creature that had spoken. He was a good head or two taller than you, though his slouching made him seem a bit shorter. A quick glance over your own body revealed that he was pretty similar in appearance. Though he didn't have the wings, which confused you. Who was this monster?

“Holy shit, indeed,” Gaster hummed, forcing your gaze to him. “This beast is quite the anomaly.”

The taller skeleton stepped closer, his cold gaze making you take a step back. Whatever this man did, you didn't want him near you. Your wings raised of their own accord, trying to make you seem even bigger than you already were. When you tried to tell him to step back, all that escaped was an angry hiss. The man's eyelights became slits, his posture going rigid.

“Fine. It has just formed. Sans, you are in charge of them. Bring them to the room across from yours. They are your responsibility, so keep them safe.”

“yessir,” Sans responded, gesturing for you to follow him.

Feeling much more relaxed around the smaller of the two, you did as you were asked. Sans led you through a set of heavy metal doors. The hallway behind smelled of chemicals, your claws clicking against the shiny white tiles. The walls were painted the same white as the floors. Seeing the same thing over and over made your chest tighten in an almost painful manner. It was a feeling you could not quite place.

“so, kid, any idea what just happened?”

A low purr escaped your throat in lieu of a response. As he cast you a strange glance, you huffed in annoyance. You tried a few more times, only managing to make a few different noises instead of words. Sans eyed you as you continued to try, merely raising an eyebrow ridge at the sounds escaping you.

“oh. you, uh, can't talk, then?”

You growled, the sound reverberating low in your chest, in agreement.

“huh. well, pap and i couldn't talk at first, either.”

At that, you tilted your head to the side. It was your best attempt to get your question across.

“pap is my little bro. our dad, gaster, created me first. then pap. he created you using a lot of different monster's magic, though, so you're not related to him in the same way we are,” he explained, tail swishing back and forth rapidly. “i'd stay away from pap, if i were you.”

You slowed to a stop as Sans placed a claw on a door handle. A soft purr of confusion escaped, curious as to his sudden mood shift.

“he's a good kid.”

Sans stopped at that, opening the door and gesturing for you to go through. Without any other real option, you made your way into the room and looked around. There were no windows, and the walls and floors were the same as in the hallway. In one corner, there was a pile of sterile white pillows. Aside from the door that led into the hallway, there was only one other door. A quick check revealed it to be an empty closet.

“this is your room, kid,” Sans said from the doorway. “my room is across the hall. see me if you need anything. for now, stay in here while i go find you some clothes.”

With that, the taller skeleton pressed the button to shut the door to your new room. You let out a soft sigh, walking over to the pillows to move them into a more comfortable bed. It took a while to get them just right, but when you laid down, it was perfect. Your eye sockets drifted closed, sleep threatening to overtake you.

Just as you were about to fall asleep, the door to your opened again. A skeleton half your size came in backwards, dragging a wheelbarrow with him. Bolts of fabrics, some sort of fluff, needles, thread, and a sewing machine sat in the cart. The skeleton himself was wearing a white shirt with 'COOL DUDE' written across the front in black marker, a pair of blue pants, and a bright red scarf. Tight gloves adorned his front feet, though there were holes for his dew claws.

“HELLO, NEW MONSTER!” the skeleton yelled, turning to you with a happy grin on his face. “MY NAME IS PAPYRUS. MY BROTHER WAS ASKING ABOUT CLOTHES FOR A BEAST LIKE HIM BUT A BIT SMALLER, AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, QUICKLY REALIZED WHAT THAT MEANT! WHAT IS YOUR NAME?”

You tilted your head to the side, letting loose an uneasy purr. It wasn't like you could answer him, for two reasons. The first was, of course, that you simply couldn't talk. That fact was something you were hoping Sans or, stars forbid, Gaster would help you with. And then..., you didn't have one. Perhaps it was because you were just created, but you didn't have a name yet.

“NEW MONSTER?”

You used your tail to tap your neck, following it up with a soft purr.

“OH. YOU CAN'T TALK?” At your resulting nod, Papyrus merely grinned. “NOT A PROBLEM, FRIEND! I CAN CALL YOU BY THAT TITLE FOR NOW! IN THE MEANTIME, I WANT TO MAKE YOU SOME CLOTHES! IT IS HARDLY RIGHT TO WANDER AROUND NAKED.” Orange light surrounded the bolts of fabric, a similar orange light shining from his right eye socket. “PLEASE PICK YOUR FAVORITE COLOR, AND I WILL MAKE YOU YOUR OWN SWEATSHIRT! I MAKE ALL OF MY OWN CLOTHES, SO I PROMISE IT WILL BE NEARLY AS GREAT AS I AM.”

Shifting your position on the pillows, you reached forward and tapped one of the bolts.

“GREAT CHOICE, FRIEND! THIS COLOR WILL LOOK GREAT ON YOU!” With that out of the way, needles, thread, and scissors were soon surrounded by the same orange light. Papyrus cut and tied together fabric with expert precision. “IT WILL PROBABLY BE A COUPLE DAYS BEFORE DAD COMES TO GET YOU FOR YOUR FIRST TEST. HE IGNORED ME FOR A FULL WEEK SO I COULD GET A HOLD OF MY MAGIC. I REMEMBER SANS TEACHING ME EVERYTHING I KNOW. THERE'S A LOT YOU WILL HAVE TO LEARN, BUT MY BROTHER IS THE BEST TEACHER!”

You lowered your head, resting in on the pillows as you purred.

“DO NOT LET HIM KNOW I WAS HERE, THOUGH. WHILE I DO LOVE MY BROTHER, HE CAN BE INCREDIBLY PROTECTIVE! I AM NO LONGER A BABY BONES, EVEN IF THAT IS HOW HE WISHES TO TREAT ME.”

A chuckle escaped you at the smaller skeleton's insistence.

“BUT MY POINT HOLDS. AND YOU CAN COME SEE ME ANYTIME SANS IN BUSY! I AM IN THE ROOM TO THE LEFT OF HIS. IT WILL BE NICE TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO HANG OUT WITH! MOST OF DAD'S ASSISTANTS ARE AFRAID TO BE AROUND ME AND SANS. THEY ARE AFRAID OF MY DAD.”

You tilted your head to the side, doing your best to give a comforting purr.

“OH, IT IS OKAY, FRIEND,” Papyrus called, grinning at you as he lifted the white fluff from his cart. “I AM USED TO IT. BESIDES, I ALWAYS HAD SANS. SANS DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE.” As he finished speaking, the skeleton snipped the last thread and tied a knot. “HERE YOU GO, FRIEND. THIS IS A SWEATSHIRT! IT CAN GET COLD HERE, SO THIS SHOULD KEEP YOU WARM WHILE ALSO COVERING YOU UP!”

The article of clothing was surrounded by the same orange light as it floated over to you. It took some input from Papyrus to get it on since you'd never worn anything before, but the fabric was soft against your bones. In fact, you hadn't even realized you were chilly until the warmth from the sweatshirt seeped into you. You stood fully, stretching and appreciating the flexibility of the fabric. Your tail swished back and force, knocking pillows around. As you were bouncing about, the door to your room opened again. Papyrus shrunk in on himself as Sans walked in.

“i think i found a shirt that might fit, kid,” he said, studying the clothing on his back. “you'll have to try them-,” Sans cut himself off as he looked up, spotting the younger skeleton in the room. His eyelights vanished, forcing his eye sockets to become pitch black holes. “pap. what are you doing here.”

The smaller skeleton trembled under the glare of his brother. “I... I WANTED TO HELP MY NEW FRIEND.”

“pap, go back to your room.”

“BUT, SANS-”

“ _n o w_ , papyrus.”

Noticing the younger skeleton flinch back, a growl escaped you. You jumped from your position on the pillows, landing between Papyrus and Sans. Your tail lashed back and forth, leaving marks on the tiles. Constant snarls left your chest, and you could feel a strange power surrounding you. Before you, Sans took a step back. His eyelights reappeared, and he was lowering closer to the floor.

“okay, there, kid..., calm down, will ya?”

Another snarl escaped you when he tried to move closer. You lifted your wings to block the older skeleton's view of his brother.

“F-FRIEND?” Papyrus spoke up. “THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING ME, BUT PLEASE DON'T HURT SANS. AND PUT THE PILLOWS DOWN!”

You turned in confusion, a yelp escaping when you noticed the pillows floating around you. Each one was surrounded with a light formed from a variety of colors. In fact, that same color spectrum was now forming a web between the bones of your wings. Whines began to leave you as you lowered to the floor, the sight confusing you.

“oh, crap, that's right. you don't know about your magic yet.”

“OH NO! FRIEND, PLEASE REMAIN CALM!”

You let loose another whine, clutching your skull with your claws.

“hey, kid, look at me.”

You did as Sans asked, focusing on his pin-prick eyelights.

“okay, now i want you to look straight at one of those pillows. you're controlling them, so try imagining them lowering to the ground.”

Whining low, you turned your gaze to one of the many floating pillows. It took several tries, but eventually the pillow you were looking at lost the light and fell to the ground. You perked up, moving straight onto the next pillow. Knowing what you were doing, the remaining pillows fell one by one. At the last one, you were able to make it move a bit before the pressure in your chest began to lessen. Despite not commanding it to, the pillow fell to the floor. The light from your wings faded at the same time, and you were hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion.

As if sensing what was coming, Sans hopped over and caught you as you started to fall. Behind you, Papyrus was already remaking your bed. By the time you lost your ability to stand, Sans and Papyrus had maneuvered you onto the pillows. A soft whine escaped you, worry forcing your chest to constrict.

“don't worry about it kiddo, okay?”

“MONSTERS LIKE US ARE MADE OF MAGIC. WHEN WE USE TOO MUCH, WE GET REALLY TIRED!”

You managed a single nod, allowing your eye sockets to close and sleep to finally overtake you. As you fell asleep, you could hear Sans apologizing to Papyrus for scaring him. The latter was quick to accept the apology, happy that everything had worked out.

It was nice to think you had made a difference.

 

 

 

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and the months turned into a year. Though, while you did have a concept of time, not much mattered to you. After the first month where Sans and Papyrus had worked with you to harness your magic, Gaster worked with you every other day. He spent time testing your body and the color of your magic. He couldn't make sense of any of it, but he did try time and time again to pull out your SOUL to get a good look at it. Whatever it was about your creation, however, kept him from grabbing it. Against your will, your magic would lash out to protect the SOUL. The same with the pendant.

Regardless, you had ended up fitting into your role well. You got along well with the brothers, happily spending time with them outside of testing. Papyrus particularly seemed to enjoy your company since Gaster kept Sans busy often. Gaster was the real problem. He seemed to possess no emotions aside from curiosity, annoyance, and aggression. Never bothering to display any form of attachment or emotions towards you, you felt the same. Being in his presence at all made you uncomfortable, so you made sure to keep away from his as much as possible.

It didn't help that he treated his sons so terribly.

A knock at your door roused you from your reverie, confusion clouding your thoughts. As far as you could remember, today wasn't supposed to be a testing day. Yawning, you stood from your pillow bed and stretched. After working the kinks out of your wings, you curled them into your side and padded to the other side of the room and used a claw to open the door.

Papyrus jumped, his quickly growing form nearly larger than yours. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRIEND!”

You tilted your head. While most basic things had meaning to you, something rooted deep in your soul, the phrase meant nothing. It... sounded familiar, but that was it.

“don't worry, kid. let us in an' i'll explain.”

Glancing past Papyrus to give Sans a nod, you stepped back. Papyrus came in first, dragging a familiar cart with some sort of food and a few boxes. Sans followed lazily behind, seeming unconcerned with the face you now dwarfed him in size and dragging the blankets he'd been carrying off of his back and onto the floor. He and Papyrus got settled on one side of the cart, while you laid on your pillows and waited for any explanation.

“SANS, THEY DON'T LOOK HAPPY.”

As much as you hated seeing Papyrus' sad face, you wanted an explanation more. Sans turned his gaze to you.

“when we were created, we considered that the day of our... _birth_ ,” he explained slowly. “every year on that same day, we celebrate something called a birthday.”

“IT'S A CELEBRATION OF BEING CREATED! WE'RE GLAD THAT EVERYONE IS HERE, SO WE HAVE A PARTY.”

You blinked a few times, considering the implications. That meant today was the year anniversary of you bring brought into this world. To be honest, you weren't sure if you were... _happy_ with that knowledge, but they certainly seemed to be. Using your tail, you gestured at the cart.

“IT IS CUSTOMARY TO SHARE DESSERTS ON A BIRTHDAY!” Papyrus happily explained, gently pulling bowls out with his magic.

“and give gifts,” Sans added, noticing you eying the boxes.

At that, a frown pulled at the edges of your jaw. You gestured at the two of them before pointing back the cart.

“oh. our birthdays?”

“MINE WAS THE WEEK AFTER YOU WERE CREATED, AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER YOU TOO MUCH,” Papyrus cut in, still laser focused on putting sections of dessert into the bowls. “WE CAN CELEBRATE TOGETHER THIS YEAR!”

“and i don't celebrate as much as i used to.”

“WE USUALLY JUST EXCHANGE GIFTS.”

You growled softly, narrowing your sockets at Sans.

“okay, okay. this year, deal?”

Feeling the edges of your jaw lift, you nodded. At the same time, Papyrus used his magic to set a bowl down in front of everyone. At his behest, you all dug in. You rarely had pastries since it simply wasn't made in the cafeteria. Now you knew what you'd been missing. The pastry melted on your tongue long before it evaporated into magic. You were finished long before the brothers, ignoring Sans' chuckles. Papyrus was less inclined to laugh, chiding you on your messy eating.

Once everyone was done eating, Sans' food disappearing while no one was looking as usual and Papyrus carefully cleaning his bowl with his tongue, Papyrus lit up.

“PRESENT TIME! OPEN MINE FIRST,” he cheered, grabbing the medium-sized box from the pile and handing it to you.

It was the most haphazardly wrapped of the five, using several different types of paper with skeletons drawn all over it. Bones and stars filled the extra space. Glancing at them curiously, you lifted a claw and sliced away the wrapping. Papyrus was bouncing up and down as you opened it, only stopping when you pulled out what had been inside. The gift was a scarf, helpfully labeled with a large tag that said 'SCARF' in Papyrus' handwriting, made of the same color fabric as your jacket. It lit up with Papyrus magic as he lifted it from your grip, gently wrapping it around your neck.

“IT'S TO HELP KEEP YOU WARM!” he explained, quickly grabbing another box. “OPEN THE OTHER MINE NEXT!”

You managed a grin before opening this one. It was the smallest of the five, wrapped with one of the colors from his other gift. A drawing in orange paint covered the top. At your best guess, it was supposed to be you, a large skeletal beast with huge, rainbow-colored wings. You did your best to not rip the drawing while you opened the box. The object inside was some sort of... ring... made of leather and studded with metal spikes.

“oh. that's a pretty cool bracelet you made, bro.”

You tilted your head, lifting it with the sharpened tip of your tail.

“YOU CAN WEAR IT ON YOUR WRIST OR TAIL!” Papyrus explained, getting up and walking over to your side. “DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE?”

Considering your tail was plenty sharp on its own, you raised a front leg. Papyrus happily unclasped the blue and orange bracelet before wrapping it around your leg. He slid back onto his blanket after that, grinning.

“NOW YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE A PART OF US! OR, AT LEAST SOMETHING TO HELP YOU THINK ABOUT US.”

You gave your best purr, wishing you could speak to give him a proper thank-you. At his somehow widened grin, you figured you got your point across. Sans finally raised his tail, nudging a box over the tip of the cart and onto your pillows.

“my turn, i guess.”

Despite his rather laid back attitude, the box was wrapped neatly with bright blue paper. You tore it open without much preamble, blinking in surprise at the book inside.

“uh, yeah...,” he mumbled, glancing to the side and trying to cover his growing blush with a claw “since we've been workin' on your reading, i thought a joke book might be good.”

You grinned, opening the book with the utmost care. To be fair, few of the words made sense considering you had only recently started with letters, but the excitement of one day being able to read it filled you with... _something_. You couldn't place it, but it was definitely a strong feeling. With a loud purr you pulled the book close and smiled. Sans seemed to smile back, hiding the action by handing you the other box.

Wasting no time, you tore the matching wrapping paper off and peered inside. It was the second largest box of the five, and it was filled with... another box. With a confused look, you took the new one out and opened it. Among the tissue paper, you found _another_ box. Papyrus was beginning to give his brother a concerned look, but you delved deeper and found, unsurprisingly, another box. At the fifth and final box, you finally found the gift inside. Gingerly taking it out, you studied the gift. A small, shell-shaped pendant stared back at you. As pretty as it was..., you weren't sure what to do with it.

“it's to cover that necklace.”

You raised your gaze, tilting your head.

“i noticed you seemed upset about it, uh, dripping everywhere,” he told you, using his magic to lift the shell and clamp it over the pendant. “that should keep the... liquid contained so it doesn't get on your jacket or the floor anymore.”

You cooed happily using your tail to play with the newly covered pendent.

“it's magic, actually. so the goop that drips into it is sent to inter-dimensional storage. i'll handle getting it emptied every once in a while.”

Purring, you nestled the covered necklace into your jacket where it could now sit without ruining Papyrus' head work. Feeling happy and comfortable, you raised your gaze to the largest package, wondering where it had come from. It certainly wasn't Gaster.

Seeing where you were looking, Sans lightly tossed the box to you. “this is actually from one of the scientists on the higher levels, alphys. when she heard the, uh, third assistant had a birthday comin' up, she asked us if she could send somethin'. apparently, a bunch of staff pitched in.”

Curiosity firmly piqued, you lifted the lid off the box and peered inside. The first thing you pulled out was a large pillow, somehow large enough for your whole skull. It was made with dark blues, a shimmering, light blue used for the echo flowers on the bottom and a bright yellow for something on the top.

“oh. echo flowers.”

“AND STARS!”

It felt soft on your face, too, so that was a huge bonus. The next thing from the box was a large backpack. Judging by the way the straps were made, it seemed to be created specifically for you. The straps would latch around the base of your wings, leaving room for them to stretch without letting the pack flap around too much. Curious about the size, you opened it and tried to stuff the new pillow inside. It took a lot of pushing, but you managed to get it to fit, if just barely. Papyrus and Sans watched with interest as you strapped it to your wings, using your teeth to tighten it properly. Once it was firmly attached, you stood and stretched, showing it off while also testing it. You could barely tell is was there.

“WOWIE. I WISH I HAD A BACKPACK THAT COOL.”

“maybe on your birthday, bro.”

“MAYBE!”

You smiled softly, peering back into the box and pulling out two stuffed... soft... things?

“PLUSHIES!”

With a tilt of your head you nuzzled them. They certainly felt soft. At closer glance, they appeared to be based of off Sans and Papyrus. You grinned, surprised at having another thing to be able to think of them by when they were busy and you were alone. Stuffing them carefully in the second pocket of the backpack, you turned your attention back to the box. The last object inside was wrapped with tissue paper, which you slipped off before taking it out.

“a phone?” Sans asked, getting up to look at it with you.

The whole object rested in your palm, with the screen taking up about one third of its size. The rest had twelve buttons, with the first three rows numbered one through nine with letters underneath. A box symbol, for storage Sans told you, was on the bottom left button and the bottom right one was colored green. Sans said that was for pulling up the screen to make phone calls. The number zero was on the middle bottom.

Sans huffed out a laugh. “wow. they really went all out. look at the buttons. they're made with holes in the middle for your claw to slide into. ours don't even have those.”

“LET ME PUT OUR NUMBERS IN!” Papyrus cheered, grabbing it and clicking buttons.

“he means he's putting it a specific set of numbers that'll let you call our phones,” Sans explained, slipping his out of his pocket. “if you choose the ones with our names, it'll call ours. do you remember what our names look like?”

You nodded after a moment, tracing out the letters to their names in your head to make sure. Just as you finished, Papyrus handed you your phone back.

“THERE! THAT SHOULD-”

A huge _CRACK_ followed by the world shaking and a loud rumbling assaulted you. Your phone tumbled from your grip and fell onto the pillows, you following soon after. Papyrus leaned against you, doing his best to stay upright. Sans was the most stable, though he had his tail wrapped around a door. When the shaking subsided to a reasonable level, an alarm blasted through the facility.

“that's... that's the core alarm!”

Papyrus shivered, looking around. “B-BUT.... DAD!” He turned, running from the room.

“pap! wait!” Sans shouted, following.

You stood up as quick as you could on your slowly stabilizing legs. Just before running to follow, you grabbed the phone and slipped it into one of the zipper pockets on your sweatshirt. The few scientists that were allowed down here were running for the elevator to the upper levels, the only means of getting away from the core. Despite their fear, they made room for you as you barreled down the hallway. Despite not being able to see Sans or Papryus, you'd been here long enough to recognize the door to the CORE.

You pushed through that, skidding to a halt on the metal walkway and taking in the sight before you. Part of the walkway had crumbled, leaving a clear divide between the brothers and Gaster. It was large enough that no one would be able to jump it, but Papyrus was standing at the edge anyway. Gaster was working at a panel furiously, likely trying to fix the meltdown. Sans, meanwhile, stood several feet behind Papyrus, clearly afraid to step forward and risk plunging his brother into the core.

“FATHER!”

“Get out of here!” Gaster shouted back. “I won't let my experiments be destroyed.”

“c'mon, pap! listen to him!”

“WHAT IF HE GETS HURT AND NO ONE CAN HELP HIM?” Papyrus shouted back. He stood straighter, turning his head to get a good look behind him. As he pressed a claw down, a _creak_ sounded. Papyrus hesitated glancing down just as the platform's back-ups failed and disconnected.

“PAP!”

“My experiment!”

As Sans tried to catch him with his magic, you roared at Gaster in the hopes of conveying how angry you were at his own caring for his experiments. When Sans cursed, his magic failing him, you acted on instinct. Leaping over Sans, you unfurled your wings and dived, catching Papyrus with a combination of your magic and your powerful jaw. He scrambled for a purchase, trying to grab onto anything as he wailed. You flapped your wings as hard as you could, crying out when you realized it wouldn't be enough. Using as much of your magic as you could, you propelled Papyrus up and back onto the safety of the walkway with his brother.

“FRIEND!” he yelled, leaning his head over with Sans to see if you were okay.

You flapped your wings as best you could, but couldn't make any headway. A glance back at them revealed the rainbow magic to be flickering in and out. The realization that you wouldn't make it came at the same time Gaster's platform was destroyed, sending him plunging into the core. You tried regardless, trying to make just enough altitude to grab onto something. _Anything_. But you could feel the magic falter, making you drop a few more feet.

“whoa, whoa! we'll go get help, okay? just stay up!”

The CORE was failing. If they went to get help and come back, they might die in the melt down. Besides, with your magic faltering, there was no promise you were making it out even if they did get help. So, you did the one think you knew would keep them alive.

You dropped your wings. They called out as you dropped, and you did your best to give a hopeful croon. You really did want them to be okay. The closer you dropped to the magma of the CORE, the hotter it got. Your tail lashed back and forth, betraying your fear.

You didn't want to die.

Just as you were about to hit the surface, you felt your tail rip through something, combined with the feeling of the last of your magic draining.

The world went black.

 


	2. A Plan Denied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was never what you wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really like a better upload schedule than "once every month or so", but I'm working on it. All of your comments really helped me write! Thanks for all the support!
> 
> As always, please let me know if you find any mistakes or if you have any questions! I love interacting with all of you!

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You jumped through the portal, landing carefully on the snowy ground. While you weren't sure where you were, which was, quite honestly, the norm, a quick sniff revealed that the scent of dust wasn't prevalent. If you could avoid the aggressive worlds, you would be fine. Still, after traveling the alternate universes for a couple years, you thought chance would have you come across your home universe. Concern for the well being of the brothers was still rooted deep in your SOUL, and it was hard to ignore.

Regardless, you had gotten used to this new life. Spending time hopping between universes wasn't so bad. You'd long since learned to avoid the inhabitants, and that meant you were hardly ever bothered. With your control of your magic and being able to tear a hole between universes with your tail, you were never in any real danger. A cry sounded nearby, interrupting your thoughts. Despite your decision to stay away, the owner of the cry had seemed terrified. At the very least, you should see if there was anything you could do to help. Even if you didn't know which universe you were in.

After winding through Snowdin's trees, you arrived at the scene of a confrontation. A small human was dodging and weaving to the best of their ability, trying to avoid a monster that kept grabbing for them. They were trying to reason with the creature, trying to make it back off and leave, but to no avail. The monster seemed... unhinged? Something about its movements was unnatural... _wrong_. You sniffed the air, a very particular scent assaulting your nostrils.

Oh. You've been to this world before. It wasn't your favorite by far, but you've been here a few times. The monsters had been infected with... something that changed them. Instead of fighting or having a royal guard they had increased sex drives and a royal harem. Still, that human clearly needed your help. While you weren't one for getting involved, you weren't going to let someone hurt the human.

You leaped forward, landing between the 'attacking' monster and the human. Both parties froze, trying to size you up and figure out what was going on. It wasn't quite right to interrupt a confrontation, but you didn't care. Wasn't like this was your universe anyway. When the monster moved to step towards the human again, you roared, snapping at them with your powerful jaws. If you could make the monster flee, the human would be safe for now. Despite your aggressive nature, the monster lunged forward, hoping to grab the human.

Snarling, you raised your pointed tail and swatted the monster away as gently as you could. By the small scar appearing on its body, you figured you'd accidentally done a small amount of damage. Seeming to realize the same thing, the monster turned heel and ran, fleeing and ending the confrontation. Sighing, you turned your attention to the human. They were on the small size for a human, at least from the few you'd seen, though you guessed that they were an adult. You tilted your head, purring softly.

The human took a step back, eying you cautiously as you stood there. They seemed to calm when you didn't move towards them in any way, biting their lip in thought.

“Um..., thank you? I'm Frisk. Who... who are you?”

With a small huff, you laid down, purring softly. When they only got more confused, you tapped your neck and shook your head.

“Oh! You can't talk?”

You nodded, curling in your tail and wings to seem as nonthreatening as possible. You lowered your head, trying to seem smaller. With a soft purr, you tilted your head.

“Well, um... I'm Frisk but... you already knew that. You're... you're not like the others?”

Glancing where the monster from before had run off, you shook your head. You didn't know what had caused the change in these monsters, but you were fairly certain it hadn't affected you.

“That's great!” The human, Frisk, looked around for a bit, apparently spotting what they were looking for in the tree line. “Rosie! Look, a friend!” Frisk ran over, leaning down and letting a small flower climb up their arm and settle at their shoulder. “This is Rosie!” they explained, grinning at you as the flower stared at you with visible concern.

The crunching of snow some ways away caught your attention, and you raised your head to try and get a clearer sound. Whatever was causing it seemed to be heading in your direction, and you wanted nothing more to avoid another confrontation. Worried about the human getting hurt, you stood and picked them up by the back of their striped shirt. They shouted in surprise, their flowery companion sending out their own concerns. Both went silent as a monster turned the corner. You nearly dropped them when you realized it was a skeleton, albeit one who walked on two legs and had no tail. Still, an possible threat was a possible threat, and considering this clearly wasn't any of the skeletons you knew, you weren't going to take any chances.

Ignoring the shock evident on the face of the approaching skeleton, you spread your wings, activated their magic, and jumped. Using your wings as an extra boost, you climbed to the tops of the trees. In a relatively safer location being so high up, you curled your neck so you could set Frisk on your back between your wings. Giving what you hoped was a calming coo, you jumped into the air, gliding across the tree tops and into a clearing some ways away.

Frisk clambered off your back when you landed, eyes practically sparkling as they stared up at you. “Whoa! You can really fly!”

You snorted, shaking your wings out and letting the magic fade. You still weren't great at flying, considering practicing could make you get seen, but you were decent enough to glide like earlier. The strain on your wings would take some getting used to, however, and you could tell by the soreness that not stretching them beforehand was already starting to bite you in the tail. You wouldn't be flying for the next couple of days.

“Thank you for saving us!”

The sound of crunching snow was still invading your senses, and you knew the thanks was premature. It sounded just like the skeleton from before, and you wouldn't be able to make another escape like before. And you certainly wouldn't be able to jump to another universe with the human and their flower in tow. No, you weren't going to mess with the universes that much. Still, you felt a need to protect this human, at least for the time being. You pulled them close, wrapping your tail around their stomach and standing between them and the approaching skeleton. The trick here was to appear as threatening as possible to keep the monster from getting to close. To do that, you brought your front legs forward, lowering the front half of your body slightly. Each wing splayed out to your side, raising high and flickering with your magic. You dropped your jaw, growling low in your chest. The skeleton emerged from the tree line, stopping dead at the sight of you.

A pun your Sans would have appreciated.

“uh..., hey...?”

You snarled louder, leaning forward and snapping.

“whoa, hey. no need to get snappy, not that i'd mind a bite or two,” the skeleton purred, his grin becoming slightly less strained. “never met a monster so, uh, violent, though.”

Frisk peeked out from behind you, eyebrows drawn in as they stared at the other monster. Both hands raised to wrap around your ulna. While not exactly comfortable, you had bigger things to worry about right now.

“don't talk much? i bet ya still howl,” he continued, grinning as he leaned against a tree.

Was... was he _hitting_ on you? Huffing in annoyance, and guessing that he wasn't about to jump Frisk or Rosie, you straightened your stance and lowered your wings somewhat. With your tail still wrapped around Frisk just in case, you sat down.

“They can't talk,” Frisk called out, arms moved to hold onto the vertebrae of your tail.

The skeleton raised an eye ridge. “huh.” He shrugged, brushing some snow off his highly inefficient jacket. Seriously, with a crop top that showed off the top of his pelvis and part of his spine, one would think he'd wear a jacket that did _anything_. Instead, it seemed to have no zipper on top of no sleeves. The only thing that seemed warm were the puffs of fluff on the bottom and around the neck. Even the gloves he wore were fingerless. Combined with leather tight pants and a pair of boots, he looked more suited to a Hotland environment. You hoped that some monsters in this universe dressed normally. At least Frisk had a sweatshirt.

“so, i didn't realize there were more skeleton monsters,” he finally said. “can't say i'm not intrigued with one so... big.”

You snorted, rolling your eye lights. Though you had grown somewhat in the last couple years, you doubted that you were even close to Papyrus' size. Sans had stopped growing shortly before you left, and you'd left with a head or so on him.

Frisk took a deep breath, stepping away from you a bit to talk to him properly. “Do... do you know where we can get food?”

“food, huh?” he murmured, the edges of his smile dipping down. “i wouldn't suggest you go get it yourselves. how 'bout i go get some and bring it back, hm?”

“Really?” the human asked, lighting up. “I can give you some gold!”

“nah, don't worry about it. grillbs and i go _way_ back. stay here, all right?”

Once you couldn't hear the skeleton's footsteps, you slowly unwound your tail from Frisk's stomach. They smiled up happily at you, the grin stretching ear to ear. Rosie seemed a bit happier as well, though it was hard to tell considering how concerned the flower was. Regardless, you still weren't sure about trusting anyone. As hard as it was, you'd spent so long knowing you could trust no one. The two you _could_ trust were in a universe you'd been having trouble finding your way back to. So, as a distraction, you nudged Frisk and then gesturing in the direction the skeleton had gone.

“Hm? Oh. Are you asking if I trust him?”

The edges of your jaw quirked up. The kid was smart. You nodded.

“Well, if he brings back more monsters, you'll hear it, right? We can make a run for it then, but he didn't seem to mean us any harm.” The human smiled up at you. “Besides, I've barely eaten since I fell, and if I don't eat soon, I'll run out of energy.”

You nodded. Generally, you stole food, hunted, or foraged in whatever universe you were in. While magic food had a larger impact on your health, eating anything prolonged the starvation. And you'd been in enough tight spots to know what it's like to need food. Nudging Frisk, you purred out an understanding.

They giggled, smiling at the flower on their shoulder. “Luckily for us, Rosie doesn't need to eat.”

“It doesn't help that you need to, though,” the flower responded, concern leaking into its voice.

As Frisk and Rosie started chatting amongst themselves, you stood up and glanced around. It was starting to snow again, and you could already feel the chill setting in. Frisk had been shivering a little, but if they got wet it would get worse. You needed to do something. After looking around some more, you decided on a small lean-to to protect the three of you from the elements would suffice. You started by pulling several trees out of the ground with your jaw, using a mix of your claws and sharpened tail tip to cut off the lower branches. Once you had eight of those prepared, you tore some more trees out, taking off all of the branches on those. With that done, you brushed a section of snow away with your tail. On two opposite sides of the cleared space, you dug four holes each, just large enough for the eight trees to fit into it.

Around this point, as you fitted in the trees, you noticed that Frisk and Rosie had stopped talking and starting watching what you were doing. Working slowly and concisely, you stacked some trees on one of the empty sides, brushing piles of snow on the outside to keep them in place. With the last of the trees, you made a roof for the structure. It would be just big enough for you to lay in the back with your head to stick out and Frisk to sit between your stomach and the opening. Gathering the branches in a near the opening, you started on a fire. While most of the branches were somewhat damp, thanks to the sheer number and the fact the snow here didn't melt, you managed to find a few dry ones.

Setting the wet ones aside inside the structure to dry, you reached into the third and smallest pocket of your backpack. The other two were full still from the birthday presents years ago, but you used the smallest for basic supplies. One in particular was flint and a piece of stone. Frisk came over as you pulled out the objects, sitting down so you could focus your front legs on holding them and starting the fire. Within minutes, a nice flame licked at the branches and you had a relatively safe place to rest. Frisk sat beside the fire, under the roof of the lean-to.

“You're really good at this! It's like you've done it before.”

You shrugged. To be honest, you'd lost count of how many times you'd done this. Between makeshift structures and caves, you had a pretty good system going. Living like this was wasn't the easiest, especially compared to the controlled environment of the lab, but it wasn't like you had a choice. Until you found your way back to your home, this was your life.

“Oh,” Frisk mumbled as they set Rosie down. “I didn't get that monster's name.” They held their hands out to fire, frowning as they turned their eyes to you. “I don't know your name either.”

You shook your head, considering the odd thought. Despite the year you'd spent in your home, they'd never given you a name. Gaster referred to you as the 'success', while the boys avoided it or simply called you their friend. Sans had mentioned offhand once that you could always name yourself, but lacking the knowledge of letters and being unable to speak made that hard.

“Do you... want a name?” Frisk finally asked, hugging a leg to their chest.

It was a good question, but not one you had an answer to. You'd certainly tried to name yourself in the past, at least coming up with options, but you'd never found one that was quite right. None of them sounded like it belonged to you. Something nagged in the back of your mind, always on the tip of your tongue but never making its way out.

“Maybe a temporary name?” Rosie said, peering up at you. “Like a nickname you could use in the meantime!”

That... was a good idea, actually. You turned to the two, nodding with conviction. Having a name of any kind would be nice. It wasn't like these strangers could call you 'friend'. Not that you wanted them to. That was what Papyrus and Sans called you.

And so Frisk started listing off names, ranging from simple ones you'd heard when eavesdropping to words that seemed to have nothing to do with you. Some time into the nicknaming session, you heard a single set of steps approaching. You stood up, shaking some snow off your bones and preparing for the other skeleton's arrival.

He emerged from the tree line, carrying two large bags that smelled of grease and food. It'd been years since you'd eaten food not roasted over a fire, and it took nearly all of your willpower to not start salivating then and there. The skeleton had his usual grin, and it seemed to widen at the sight before him.

“i see you're settling in nicely,” he said, making his way over to the shelter. Before you could stop him from getting too close, he set the bags down, reaching in and pulling out a smaller one. He walked back to the tree line, sitting against a tree there. “i'll be over here. you go ahead and eat.”

Frisk looked up at you as you brought the bags close enough for them to reach into. “Can't he eat by the fire? He'll be freezing.”

You glanced over, watching him eat a fry from his bag. With a sigh, you nodded. If worst came to worst, you could easily stop him from getting too close to the human. With your long neck, it would be easy enough to pick him up in your jaw. Frisk went ahead and called him over, the skeleton joining you and not even bothering to hide his surprise.

“figured you'd want to keep me away.”

“You kept your promise,” Frisk said with a smile. “The least we can do is let you keep warm, especially after you fed us.”

“eh. i had grillbs add it to my tab.”

With that, you all settled down to eat. The skeleton let you know that one bag was entirely yours, since you'd clearly need to eat more due to your size. You nodded a thanks and set to carefully taking out the burgers and fries. Everything you grabbed could be eaten in one bite, but you did your best to savor the taste of greasy, cooked foods. You didn't know when you'd be able to enjoy it again.

Partway into their second burger, Frisk gasped, quickly swallowing the bite in their mouth. “We still don't know your name!”

The skeleton paused, blinking in surprise. “oh, yeah. i'm sans. sans the skeleton.”

You gaped at the monster. He... he was _Sans_?! You'd listened to your Sans talk about the theory of alternate universes before, which is why you knew you'd been visiting different versions of your home, but you'd never considered the implication of meeting another version of your friends. It also implied that there was a Papyrus wandering around somewhere, and, frankly, you weren't sure what to think about that.

“Nice to meet you Sans,” Frisk said, clearly unaware of your inner turmoil. “I'm Frisk. My flowery friend here is Rosie. And our large skeleton friend doesn't actually have a name.”

Sans raised an eyebrow ridge, looking up. “no one named you?”

You shook your head, trying to distract yourself with your remaining food. It was hard to look at him knowing he was a Sans that looked so different from the one you knew.

“We were trying to find them a nickname when you showed up!”

“huh.” The edges of Sans' smile quirked up a little higher. “well, most skeletons have a font as their names. i've known a papyrus and a wing ding. why not a font?”

“A font...? All right! Let's do this!” Frisk cheered, turning to you with a smile. “What about Roman? For Times New Roman?”

You snorted.

“Verdana?”

Hm... that didn't sound right either.

“Segoe?” Rosie suggested.

You shook your head.

“Cambira?”

Nope.

“Cordia?”

“Andalus?”

“Calibri?”

They continued to list off fonts, you giving a denial of some sort every time. Something just... didn't sound right. Sure, this was just a nickname and not a real name, but you felt it needed to fit you in some way. None of these did.

Sans coughed into his hand, gathering everyone's attention as he leaned back. “what about vagabond?”

Frisk frowned. “Isn't that a type of person?”

“it's also a font. besides, i don't know of any other skeleton families, so they're a traveler, right? for a nickname, it fits.”

“How's that sound?” Frisk asked, turning to look up at you.

You had been traveling a lot, and, at this point at least, there wasn't much of a home to go back to. Not until you found the right path, anyway. Vagabond fit, in a sad sorta way. You finally nodded, the edges of your jaw quirking up. It would work, though you weren't sure how you'd introduce yourself without a voice.

“Well then, nice to meet you, Vagabond!” Frisk said, grinning. They turned back to Sans. “I, um, don't suppose you're just going to let us be?”

Yawning, you laid your head down near the fire, still in an easy enough place to protect Frisk if the need arose.

“you'll freeze out here.”

“We have this shelter! And a fire!”

“not to mention you'd be an easy target.”

You snorted raising your tail and stabbing into the snow to prove a point.

“we, uh, don't normally resort to violence here,” Sans mumbled, seeming a little nervous.

“Even so, we don't exactly have anywhere else to go.”

“And an inn would be too dangerous,” Rosie added.

“Actually,” Frisk said, “you don't seem to be acting quite like the others.”

Sans snorted. “i'm just better at self control.”

“Hey, Vagabond... would it be okay to stay with Sans for a while? I haven't slept in a house for so long.”

You glanced back at the smaller skeleton. He didn't seem to be lying when he said he had decent self control, but the idea of spending the night did make you a little nervous. Not necessarily for yourself, but more for Frisk, who clearly did have the physical strength to fight if they had to. Still, as long as the three of you could stay in the same room, you could keep Frisk and Rosie safe. Turning your head to Frisk, you nodded.

“cool, but we'll have to take a back path.”

“A back path?”

Sans grinned lazily, standing up. “your friend there isn't wearing any pants.”

You tilted your head curiously, glancing back at your rear. It _was_ true that you weren't wearing any, but that was mainly because the brothers said you didn't have to. Not every monster covered their whole body, and, to be fair, clothes weren't really required at all. Not wearing clothes wasn't a bad thing. Though, now that you were looking, you could see the top of Sans' _pelvis_ and a good portion of his spine. Huffing, you raised your tail and poked into his abdominal cavity.

A blush lit up his cheekbones as he leaned back, pushing your tail away. “fair enough, i guess,” he squeaked out, “but not everyone is as thoughtful.” He stood from his seat on the snow, swiping off the snow on his butt in the weirdest way you'd ever seen. “let's get going, then. i'll need to let my brother know you're coming.”

You stretched, slinking out from underneath the shelter and stretching. Ready to walk around again, you lowered to the ground and stretched out your neck so Frisk could climb on.

“You have a brother?” Frisk asked, kicking snow on the fire and putting it out before grabbing Rosie. “You didn't mention him.”

“he's pretty awesome, trying to get into the royal harem.”

Frisk raised an eyebrow as they climbed onto the spot just behind your wings. “Royal Harem?”

“used to be the royal guard,” Sans explained. “at least until the change. why don't'cha follow me?”

Sans started on his way, gesturing for you to follow him. Carefully, you stood and shifted your wings so they wouldn't make the human on your back uncomfortable. Keeping an eye out for danger, you followed the smaller skeleton through the woods. Frisk gripped the base of your neck tightly, making you shift a bit uncomfortably as you walked. Sans, or at the very least _this_ Sans, stayed decently quiet. Your mind wandered despite your best efforts, wondering how your Sans was doing.

As you crossed a small bridge, the sounds and scents of a town assaulted your senses. Sans led you far from any buildings, though a part of you was curious since you'd never let yourself get close enough before. In that same vein, your Sans had always warned you against interfering with alternate universes, a rule you'd clearly broken. It was worth it to save the human, though.

“okay, you'll probably need to squeeze through the door,” Sans said, breaking the silence as he led you out of the tree line and to a... small house... relatively speaking. “but we should be able to get you in.”

You snorted, especially after you saw the door. What was with the size of that thing? In fact, what was with the size of that house in general? The entire building was smaller than your, Papyrus, and Sans' old rooms in your home universe _combined_! Fitting through the doorway would be difficult, but nothing you couldn't handle.

Chuckling at your reaction, Sans opened up the door and gestured for you to squeeze in. You did just that, keeping your tail primed in case he tried to touch you on your way in. Luckily enough, the living room was two stories high, meaning you had enough room to stretch vertically. There wasn't a lot of room to lay out, though, and you had a feeling it wouldn't take long to start feeling claustrophobic in the small space. Regardless, you picked Frisk up by the collar of their sweater and set them down on the couch so they could settle in. Sans lazily started up the stairs, mumbling something about finding some blankets and pillows for you. In the meantime, you pulled the couch away from the wall a bit and squeezed your back half behind it, effectively keeping your lengthy body out of the way.

Sans returned after only a few minutes, dropping the pillows and blankets and letting you know he was going to go find his brother and let him know of the situation before he disappeared. Frisk settled into the couch, happily turning on the TV and watching some comedy show where a robot of some sort was being treated... pretty awfully. As it stood, that robot seemed to be the only monster in this universe not acting over sexualized. And, to be fair, his show was pretty good. You, Frisk, and even Rosie got in a few laughs over the course of the reruns.

It was the most fun you'd had in a long time.

 

 

 

It had been an hour or so since arriving at the house when Sans and another skeleton, you assumed this universe's Papyrus, burst through the door. Sweat was beading on the smaller one's skull, though the taller one seemed completely fine. A grin split his face as he took in the sight.

“WHY, HELLO! WELCOME TO SCENIC MY HOUSE!”

Frisk smiled, happily waving. “Hello! I'm Frisk. You must be Papyrus,” they called, wincing when Rosie tightened around their arm.

“WOWIE! YOU ALL READY KNOW WHO I AM? I DIDN'T REALIZE MY INFLUENCE HAD SPREAD SO MUCH!”

You glanced away, having trouble looking at this Papyrus. You missed yours. Keeping on eye on this Sans to protect Frisk had been hard enough.... Was your Papyrus an adult now? You wondered how much bigger he'd gotten.

“We've heard how awesome you are,” Frisk replied, grinning.

Papyrus laughed, the sound of something akin to an explosion cutting him off mid 'heh'. The house shook from the force of whatever had happened, and you slid from your spot behind the couch to cover Frisk from things falling off the walls. When the shaking subsided, you stood, unfurling to your full height. You gently pushed Papyrus closer to Frisk and Rosie, huffing.

“H-HUH? WHAT ARE YOU...?”

“what the human and flower, bro,” Sans cut in, nodding gratefully at you.

You ignored him, pushing the front door open and wiggling outside with Sans at your heels. A skeleton covered in black goo flew by, a tentacle coming out and taking out five trees as he went by. Moments later, a skeleton with black bones and words flickering around him followed, dragging a monster by their SOUL. Both of these... attackers were similar to the Sans from this universe Behind you, having followed you into the doorway, Frisk gasped.

The noise drew the attention of the two new skeletons. One of them frowned, his tentacles tightening around him. The one with words around him grinned wider.

“Oh... how did you get here?” he gritted out, his voice making your head hurt.

You turned to this universe's Sans, trying to get a read on this situation. The horror in his expression told you all you needed to know. These other skeletons weren't supposed to be here. They were like you. Visitors from somewhere else.

“Who cares?” the dripping skeleton growled. “Just get rid of it, Error.”

Error grinned. “If you say so, Nightmare.” Blue strings appeared from his hands, launching towards you seconds later. They bounced off your chest, though their touch sent waves of pains through your bones. “Huh?”

Nightmare sighed, turning towards his companion. “What? They have no SOUL?”

“No, their SOUL is locked away,” he snarled.

When the other skeleton moved to get a good look at you, you decided you'd have enough. These two had been perfectly willing to kill you, and you were hardly going to let them get away with it, especially considering the damage around. Downed trees were one thing, but a single glance had you seeing fired and too much dust.

You lunged forward, grabbing the more colorful skeleton in your jaws and tossing him into the nearest tree that was still standing. When goop covered tentacles flung at you in retaliation, you lifted the downed trees with your magic and tossed them in that direction to keep him away. Behind you, you heard Sans force Frisk back inside before slamming the door. Within moments he was by your side, just in time for the attackers to start recovering. Nightmare chuckled as he took place beside Error, a menacing grin splitting his face. Error was wincing, strings appearing around him as he took a fighting stance.

“You're asking for it now,” Error growled. “I'm happy to destroy you, abomination!”

Huh. Only Gaster had ever called you that before. For some reason, it made you angrier coming from the skeleton in front of you. Snarling, you lunged once more, barreling straight into the offender. A tentacle gripped one of your back ankles, digging in until a bone pierced it. You glanced back, seeing Sans give you a wink as he summoned more bones. In your moment of distraction, Error wrapped his strings around your leg, tugging hard enough to dislocate it. A yelp escaped you as you closed your jaw around the skeleton, slamming him into the ground. In your peripheral vision, you saw Nightmare advancing on Sans. Growling, you lifted Error from the ground and threw him straight at Nightmare. They both called out in pain when they hit, you using the distraction to limp over to Sans. He eyed you in concern, and reached out to wipe something red off your cheek. You weren't sure exactly what it was, but the side of your face hurt. If you had to guess, you'd say it was caused by splinters.

When the two finally untangled and managed to stand again, a familiar _crack_ sounded throughout the town. In front of you, a rainbow portal appeared. A skeleton in bright yellow clothing flew through it, his cape fluttering behind him as he kicked Error straight in the face. Another skeleton followed just behind him, wielding a paintbrush as if it were a weapon of some sort.

“ink!” the Sans beside you yelled.

The skeleton with the paintbrush spun on his heel, giving you a good look at his full attire. He wore a lot of brown, primarily in his scarf and his shorts. A short jacket covered his top half, but you could see the ends of some sort of undersuit peeking out on his arms and legs. Fingerless gloves covered his hands, and he wore a simple pair of boots on his feet. A sash covered in colored vials was splayed across his chest and you wondered what they were for. The lights in his eye sockets changed every time he blinked, switching between a myriad of colors and shapes. His eyes never matched.

“Lust!” Ink greeted, a grin spreading across his features. It halted when he spotted you, eyes widening. “And... the anomaly...?”

The first skeleton flew back in your direction, running into you in his efforts to slow down. You winced as he bumped the dislocated leg, but took the opportunity to study him. His outfit seemed to consist entirely of blues and golds. He had a bright gold cape clasped in the front. He wore a blue tunic with white seams and a golden belt. His blue pants were tucked into his golden boots. Just like Ink, he wore a pair of fingerless gloves, though his were bright gold. Matching his whole scheme, he had a set of bright golden eye lights. A circlet rested on the top of his skull.

“Whoops, sorry!” he called out cheerfully, grinning up at you. His eyes widened at he realized who he'd bumped into. “Hey! You're from one of the Beast universes! Name's Dream, nice to meet ya!”

You tilted your head in confusion. For obvious reasons, you didn't know the names of any universes. And what exactly did it mean for these two skeletons if they not only knew the names, but how to travel between them? The implications were staggering, and you wished you could talk about it with your Sans. He loved this crazy science stuff.

Error growled from his spot with Nightmare. “Dammit! We could have finished if it wasn't for that damn abomination!”

Nightmare grabbed his shoulder, lifting his free hand to create a portal out of his own goop. “Let's go. We can always come back to this monstrosity.” He dragged his glitchy companion through, the goop that made up the portal falling to the ground and disappearing into the snow without a trace.

Dream huffed in annoyance, puffing out his cheeks. “They got away again!”

“They always seem to be one step ahead,” Ink agreed with a sigh. “They must have help.”

“Whatever freed them, maybe?”

“Possibly.” Ink shrugged, finally turning his attention to you and... Lust. “I guess it's good we were tracking that anomaly, though. Led us right to them, whether it meant to or not.”

The door to the house slammed open, Frisk, Rosie, and Papyrus running out. “Vagabond!” Frisk yelled, running straight to you. They wrapped themselves around your good leg, tears pouring from their eyes. “We were so worried!” Even Rosie wrapped a vine around one of your bones.

Papyrus set a small box on the ground, pulling out a roll of bandages. “YOU'RE BLEEDING! LET ME WRAP THIS AROUND YOUR JAW, PLEASE. IT WILL BE UNCOMFORTABLE, BUT IT SHOULD HELP YOU HEAL!”

You nodded, moving your head closer to him so he could reach you properly. In your peripheral, you could see Dream and Ink talking quietly to each other. Lust came around your other side, wincing at the state your leg was in.

“this is gonna hurt,” he muttered, drawing your full attention. “i need to get this to connect back to your socket.”

You nodded. To be honest, a lot of Gaster's tests had been incredibly painful. You doubted it could get much worse. Before you could brace yourself, however, Lust grabbed the limb and pushed it straight into the socket. A strangled cry of pain escaped you, magic surging through your wings. Lust lifted the limb, testing its movement.

“you should be okay. try to stay off it for a bit, though.”

Papyrus leaned back, putting away the remaining bandages and pulling out a small, wrapped ball. “OPEN WIDE!”

You took a step back, sockets narrowing in suspicion.

“IT'S MONSTER CANDY! IT SHOULD RAISE YOUR HP AND HELP YOU HEAL!”

Somewhere, deep in your mind, a voice warned you against taking candy from strangers, but you felt so hungry and weak that you paid it no heed. Papyrus happily unwrapped the candy and tossed it into the air for you to catch. The moment it touched your tongue, numbing relief filled your body. You sagged, taking a deep breath. That was much better.

“I, uh, hate to interrupt?” Dream called, walking right up to you with Ink at his heels. “But, uh... Frisky? You'll need to-”

“I know,” Frisk mumbled against your leg, finally letting go. “I need to reset to repair the damage.”

Ink nodded, stepping forward and grabbing your good front leg. “And you'll need to come with us so we can return you.”

Wait... Reset? Repair? Did... did that mean Gaster would be waiting for you in your universe? What if they brought you to him instead of Sans and Papyrus? What would Gaster even do to you now that you had some more control over your magic? It was terrifying to think of, and fear was settling deep into your bones. You didn't want to go back. You couldn't go back to _him_.

_“No!”_

Ink let go in surprise, you using the momentary distraction to jump back. Was that...?

“You spoke!” Frisk gasped.

Lust jumped forward, summoning bones and a few skulls that looked sort of like decapitated versions of your Gaster, which was just raising more questions. Frisk, or Frisky as Ink had called them, stood to his side, taking some sort of fighting stance.

“vagabond, go!” Lust yelled, firmly planting his feet. “get out of here before they take you to wherever it is you don't want to go!”

He... was protecting you?

“go!”

You flinched back, glancing at the confused Dream and Ink. He had a point. This might be your only chance to stay away from Gaster. Whining, you used your tail to tear a hole to whatever universe it would be this time. You whimpered a farewell, jumping through. You only hoped that this next one would be safe to recover in.

 


End file.
